New Delhi [India], Mar. 30 : SBI Card, one of India's leading credit card issuers announced the launch of a credit card, 'SBI Card Unnati', targeted at all State Bank of India (SBI) customers, including Jan Dhan account holders, throughout the country.

The card, launched at an event by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in the Government of India, will place the power of card transactions in the hands of first time credit card users, including those who do not have a credit history.

As the nation progresses on the path to digitisation, SBI Card has introduced the Unnati card in an effort to bring new users into the fold of cashless transactions, thereby contributing to India`s transformation towards a digital economy.

SBI Card Unnati will be available to SBI customers through India`s largest bank network of 20000 plus SBI branches, offering unmatched accessibility to users across the country.

To encourage adoption of credit cards and facilitate expansion in the reach of digital payments, the SBI Card Unnati will be offered free, at zero annual fees for four years. Cardholders will be entitled to a host of benefits including fuel surcharge waiver across petrol pumps in India, one reward point earning for every Rs 100 spent and the option to redeem reward points for attractive gifts from the exclusive Rewards Catalogue.

Unnati cardholders will also receive cashback on achieving certain annual milestone spends which will further add to the savings proposition and encourage consumers to migrate towards cashless payments.

"Lack of credit history has been a challenge in increasing credit card penetration in the country. In such a scenario, this card is likely to enhance credit card penetration and facilitate in generation of credit history for new users, which will eventually help bringing them into organised financial stream," said Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI.

"The nation is progressing towards becoming a less cash economy for which a slew of digital initiatives have been made available to the population at large. Needless to add that through SBI Card Unnati, SBI has once again shown the commitment to partner India's digital vision and contribute to the growth of cashless transactions," added Bhattacharya.

The SBI Card Unnati offers many distinct benefits and rewards to cardholders-

•Zero annual fee for four years.

•One reward point per Rs. 100 spent

•Reward point redemption from our exclusive Rewards Catalogue

•Rs. 500 cashback on annual spends of Rs. 50,000 or more

•Fuel surcharge waiver across petrol pumps in India

•Flexipay facility to convert their large spends into EMIs

"The SBI Card Unnati will offer customers across India, including Jan Dhan account holders, the power to step ahead, towards the easy, secure and cashless way of transacting, while enjoying the many benefits of a credit card. Transacting via credit cards will also generate credit history for new users and this will eventually help bring them into organised financial mainstream and ease their future cost of borrowing," said Vijay Jasuja, CEO, SBI Card.

As the SBI Card Unnati seeks to encourage cashless transactions, especially where credit card penetration is low, there is no income threshold to apply for the card. Anyone holding a fixed deposit of Rs. 25,000 at any SBI branch can apply for the Unnati card.

The application process has also been simplified. Applicants simply need to submit the KYC form along with their fixed deposit details at one of the 20000 plus SBI branches across India. (ANI)